A New Life in Fairy Tail

”What’s wrong, Gramps? I don’t understand what you’re talking about at all.”

Makarov could only sigh. ”For a little brat like you, is it still too early to be talking about these things?”

”What he means,” a familiar female voice came from the side, ”is that if you want to hatch it, you need to do it with your own effort and love. Since all you usually know how to do is destroy things, this is a good opportunity for you to learn about the birth of a new life.”

Everyone turned and saw that it was Erza.

”Erza!!” Two voices cried out in alarm.

Erza turned towards the sound and saw Natsu and Gray with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, looking like the best of friends.

”So you’re... here.”

”We’re getting along great today, too.”

Noah, watching from the side, couldn’t help but chuckle. Every time those two fought, if Erza was around, she would beat them both senseless. This had created a conditioned reflex; the moment they saw her, they would pretend to be best friends.

Erza nodded, gratified. Just then, an extremely excited voice came from the side. ”Is that Erza?”

Erza’s brow furrowed. She immediately spun around and saw that the voice belonged to Mirajane.

”Our last match wasn’t finished! Bring it on!”

Elfman and Lisanna groaned. ”Sis—” / ”Are you fighting again?”

”Now that you mention it, we never did settle the score, did we, Mira?” Erza replied, her face a mask of fighting spirit. Mirajane stared back at her without hesitation, their gazes clashing in mid-air. A battle was about to erupt.

”I’m gonna flatten you, Erza!”

”Don’t you go crying, Mirajane!”

They both threw a punch at the same time, their fists colliding in the air.

”You pointy-chinned woman!” Mirajane kicked Erza, sending her flying and breaking several tables and chairs along the way.

”You belly-button-showing woman!” Erza immediately charged back, punching Mirajane and shattering just as many tables and chairs.

Mirajane got up and rushed back in. The two of them locked hands, pressing their foreheads together, veins popping as they strained with all their might.

”Uptight woman!”

”Flat-chested woman!”

”Their level is so low,” Gray grumbled, watching them fight. ”And that Erza has the nerve to tell us not to fight. It’s so annoying.”

”Damn it! Erza, Mira, even Ultear... one day, I’m gonna beat them all!” Natsu said, watching the fight with a furious expression. He then glanced at Ultear. Without Sorano there to stir up trouble, Ultear didn’t join the fight. She just calmly wished him luck. ”You’d better work hard then, Natsu.”

”Damn it!”

Just then, Lisanna walked over to Natsu. ”Natsu, can I help you take care of the egg?”

”Lisanna! You’ll help me?” Natsu’s face lit up.

”Mhm!” Lisanna said happily. ”It seems like it’ll be a lot of fun! Let’s raise the egg together.”

”What do you mean, ’raise the egg’?” Gray muttered from the side, sweating.

”Right! So how do we actually hatch this thing?” Natsu asked, confused. He hadn’t understood a word Makarov had said, but he knew he needed to figure out how to help the egg.

”I read in a book before that you need to warm it up to make it hatch,” Lisanna said proudly, showing off her knowledge.

”What?!” Natsu exclaimed, then fell into a thoughtful expression. ”Warm it up?”

He opened his mouth, but before he could do anything, Noah, who had been watching and had already moved closer, punched him on the head. The flames Natsu had been about to breathe were knocked back down his throat, with only a few sparks escaping. The punch also knocked the egg out of his hands.

Noah reached out and caught the egg, carefully examining the special object in his hands.

”Cough, cough, cough!” Natsu, who had been choked by the punch, finally caught his breath and yelled, ”Noah, what’d you hit me for?!”

”Natsu, were you trying to cook this egg?” Noah said without even turning his head.

Just then, Lisanna, having recovered from the sudden turn of events, said seriously to Natsu, ”You can’t do that! That much fire will burn it!”

”It will?” Natsu asked, confused.

Lisanna said proudly, ”Leave it to me! Take Over: Animal Soul!” She activated her magic and transformed into a giant bird.

”Woah! A bird!” Natsu stared in amazement at her transformation.

Lisanna flapped her wings. ”I just need to wrap my wings around the egg to keep it warm.”

”You’re amazing, Lisanna!” Natsu said excitedly.

Elfman, who had been watching, looked unhappy. Ultear noticed and asked, ”What’s wrong, Elfman?”

”Lisanna and my sister can both do a Full-body Take Over. I’m the only one who can’t. And I’m supposed to be a real man... (he muttered).”

”Well, if you train your magic more, you’ll get more familiar with it, and then you’ll naturally be able to do things you couldn’t do before. If you train more, you’ll be able to do a Full-body Take Over. Don’t be so anxious,” Ultear encouraged him, which made him feel a little better.

”Noah, what are you doing to the egg?” Natsu asked, seeing that Noah was casting some kind of magic on it. He rushed over excitedly. ”Didn’t Gramps say you can’t use magic on the egg? Hurry up and give it to Lisanna to keep warm!”

Noah held Natsu back with one hand on his forehead, his other hand still holding the egg steady as various magic circles flashed before his eyes. ”Gramps said not to desecrate life. I’m just checking the egg’s health. From the looks of it, it’s in very good condition. There are no problems.”

Noah retracted his detection spells and also released his hand from Natsu’s head. ”Lisanna’s method is okay, but I have a better way. Do you want to know?”

”What is it?” Natsu, who was now completely focused on what he believed was a dragon egg, asked excitedly.

”This method will allow the egg to hatch even healthier and more safely.”

”Then what do I have to do?”

”Don’t be impatient. I have to go home and get something first.”

Noah used his teleportation magic to go back to his house, leaving an anxious Natsu to wait in the guild. However, he returned very quickly, carrying a transparent jar filled with a liquid.

~~~

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